IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES

Do you ever look into the deep green shadows of a primeval forest and wonder what those secret depths hold? Do you like to write about your new and inventive discoveries while sipping a glass of fragrant wine? Do you enjoy the creative process? Then I hope you will stop a spell, enjoy the adventure, and travel with me as we imagine the possibilities...

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Saturday, August 1, 2015

August has slammed into Tallahassee with record high
temperatures guaranteed to sizzle your brain. Another way to ramp up the heat,
is with a bit of romance in your novel. Jude Deveraux is an expert at writing
steamy romances. I had the opportunity to meet her at the Romance Writers
Annual Conference in New York City this past July. Talk about hot, hot, hot!

Jude Deveraux is a multi-million dollar earning author of
romances that have many folks curling their toes. In a class I attended, Ms.
Deveraux shared tips on her writing style. I thought I’d share them with you:

Get a notebook – keep everything about your novel in the
notebook.Yes, you can do this on-line,
but do print it out and insert it in a notebook.

Start with a question or statement – I want to write about
domestic violence, PTSD. . .What if -

Make a name chart of your characters in this story. Use
different sounds and letters for the names.If you have a well-known character in another story or series, do not
use that name or one that sounds close to it. Doing so can be confusing to your
reader.

Make an age chart – where they were born, when they were
born, any pertinent data. Figure out your character’s age during the time of
your story. Ms. Deveraux also cuts out pictures of people in magazines, or
prints the pictures from her computer who look like her characters.

Set up a day-to-day calendar of what happens, who in
involved, what they are doing.You can
do this as you write your story.

If you don’t like your character – kill them! If you’ve
gotten tired of your character, you can bet your reader has, too.

Yes, characters take over Ms. Deveraux’s novels – you have
to follow them, trust that the habits and traits you gave these characters are
working. “I feel what my characters feel. Cry when they do, laugh when they
do.”

Make floor plans of houses in your books, sometimes, you
have to plan out the street they live on, the towns they live in. Ms. Deveraux
obtains house plans from the Internet. Tips: Modern plans: www.ePlans.com. Historic American Building Plans: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/.
England real estate has house plans on line, including the history of these houses:
www.Savills.com.

You have to change with the times. Ms. Deveraux said that
part of her longevity is listening to other people. You have to trust people in
the business. Your agent and publisher WANT you to make money – that’s how they
make theirs.

Finally, when asked what keeps her motivated, Ms. Deveraux
said: “I just have stories in my head, I have to get them out. I take a pen and
paper with me everywhere. I’ll stop in the middle of the grocery store to jot
down something that struck a chord. I’ll pull over and make a few notes. I
don’t go anywhere without writing implements.

I hope this helps you with your writing and inspires you to
work on your novel.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Not you, Dipster Cat, you're safe. I'm talking about some of the words in my novel!

So you’ve written
the great American Novel and are ready to submit it to a publisher, an agent,
or even publish it yourself. STOP! First, YOU MUST HIRE A PROFESSIONAL EDITOR! Please
do not assume your friends, critique group, mom, dad, or even you can properly
edit your novel. They can’t. You can’t.

Most professional
editors ask for a sample of your novel before quoting their price for editing.
This is the norm. They are not out to milk you of money. What they are doing is
charging you according to how much time they will need to invest in working on
your book. You can bring this price down by editing on your own as much as
possible.Below are some common things
that we can fix before we send our Magnus Opus to be edited.

-ly – Words
ending in ly should be used like pepper flakes – only in small quantities. You
are a tremendous author. Rewrite. I used ly words like sand on the beach in my
first novel. Took me forever to get those buggers out.

-ing – Same as ly
words. These things breed – I’m just saying…

Was – Nope, don’t
need it. This is passive voice. Again, rewrite. You can do better.

Pronouns – Be
careful when using pronouns. Particularly when you have two characters of the
same gender. The reader should not have to struggle to understand which
individual you are speaking of.

That – Nine times
out of ten, this word is just not necessary. Take it out!

Read your book
aloud. With feeling. Fix what doesn’t flow, or highlight the section with a
bright color so you can go back and take care of the rough spots. A novel is
like a symphony, your words should crescendo and ebb with the mood you want to
impart. I like to say read it to the cat, not the dog. Your dog will think you
are William Shakespeare, J.K. Rowling, Ilona Andrews, or Steve Berry. The cat
won’t put up with any crap – read it like a cat! If you have a Kindle, or a
Kindle app, you can send it to your Kindle and read your writing like you’d
read a published novel. Believe me when I say that it makes a
difference.

Do not be afraid
to cut sections out of your novel – extended backstory – too much exposition. I know you love a certain character. However, is this character forwarding the
plot? If not take the sucker out! Think of excess characters or words as
vampires – if they don’t have a stake in the plot – stake them and throw them
in a separate document of bits and pieces. Maybe you can use this character in
a different novel or short story. In other words – kill that baby!

There are many
more things you can do to improve your writing. Google writing tips – everyone
has an opinion. Find the ones that you need to use, and go for it.

Do as much
editing as you can before sending to an editor. This will improve your writing
skills, and cut down on costs for the editing we all need.

The Tallahassee Writers Association has a
plethora of professional editors. Check our webpage at www.twaonline.org, and give them a call.
Or check your local writers association. I'm sure they want to help you become a better writer.

So you’ve written your book, and are ready to
share your writing with the world. What do you do? Who do you go to for help in
this endeavor?

Barbara Joe Williams simplifies the process for
publishing and marketing your masterpiece. In easy to follow steps, Williams
gently holds the reader’s hand and guides the aspiring author through setting
up an office, what type of license is needed, and even provides a list of
supplies. She moves on to offer advice on how to set up your books, standard
sizes, formatting, and designing the book cover, to finally getting your book
in stores, and marketing. Each chapter follows the previous one in steps that
make total sense and lends what I’d thought an agonizing process, a feat that
feels possible and promising.

Williams
is an Amazon bestselling author, indie publisher, and motivational speaker living
in Tallahassee, Florida. She is a Navy veteran, a graduate of Tallahassee
Community College, and Florida A & M University. Barbara is also the
founder of Amani Publishing, LLC (2004), and the co-founder of the Tallahassee
Authors Network since September 2008.

She
has published books for over thirty authors as well as herself. Williams is
generous with her knowledge of the publishing business. Reading this updated
version, I felt as though she were sitting beside me and guiding me. Her
chapters are clear and concise. Each chapter ends with a checklist that
reiterates information learned in that chapter, and helps the reader plan the
next step in publishing their own work.

Williams
states that yes, there are other thicker books with more detail, but I’m not
going there. Her compact e-book gives encouragement as well as information. She
provides links and address to publishing houses, printers, types of programs
and software you might need to handle the publishing and marketing of your
book.

Williams
recommends using an editor and processing your writing so you place before the
world the best you can do. She warns that pride goes before a fall – you have
to listen to your editor. Williams follows her own advice. Her book is
error-free. She has the pages set so they are easy to read and formatted to be
pleasing to the eye.

If
you want to publish and market your own book, then download this one. You won’t
regret it. Ms. Williams says she has no plans to provide “A Writers Guide to
Publishing & Marketing” in paper – I hope she changes her mind. I’d
certainly place her book on my resource shelf, right next to my copies of Stephen
King and Ray Bradbury’s books on writing. [Addendum: This book is now available in paperback!]

Ray
Bradbury said, “If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair.
We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be
cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and
build your wings on the way down.” This is what Barbara Joe Williams does for
writers. She gives us wings to fly on our own.